December 17, 2004
W OUTLASTS ANOTHER:
After three decades, Bill Moyers calls it a career (Associated Press, December 17, 2004)
'I was just in the editing room, working on the last piece," Bill Moyers said. "I thought: 'I've done this so many times, and each one is as difficult as the last one.' Maybe finally I've broken the habit."It hasn't been so much a habit for Moyers as a truth-telling mission during his three decades as a TV journalist. But today at 9 p.m. on KTCA, Channel 2, he will sign off from "Now," the weekly PBS newsmagazine he began in 2002, as, at 70, he retires from television. "Now" will continue with Moyers' co-host, David Brancaccio, taking over.
"I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee," Moyers said. "We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people."
The mainstream media is shedding dead wood faster than the Titanic did deckchairs, but the results may not differ much in the long run. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 17, 2004 1:35 PM
It is amazing that media types like Moyers can argue that the MSM isn't partial to Dems/liberals, much less argue it is right-wing.
And unfortunately OJ is right - the retiring liberal media types like Moyers, Rather, Brokaw, etc will simply be replaced by younger liberals.
Posted by: AWW at December 17, 2004 1:50 PMGore? check.
Dean? check.
Rather? check.
Saddam? check.
Quaddafi? check.
Moyers? check.
Brokaw? check.
still to go:
Jennings. Castro. the little nut in NKorea.
our work here is still not done.
BWWWHAAAAAA!
Howell Raines
Dick Gephart
Tom Daschle
Charles Taylor
Jacques Chretien
Jacques Aristide
You've gotta love outlasting multiple guys named Jacques. 2 down on that count...
Posted by: Timothy at December 17, 2004 2:16 PMSorry, I had to stop reading after -- "Moyers as a truth-telling mission during his three decades" . . .
Doctor's orders, I can't put that much strain on my credulity anymore.
Posted by: erp at December 17, 2004 2:24 PMInsufferable nitwits.
Posted by: Andrew X at December 17, 2004 2:44 PMMoyers will always be remembered for the commercial in the 1964 Johnson election (the little girl was picking flowers and ended with her being obliterated by a nuclear bomb)
This is an example of his "truth seeking mission". He probably felt that it was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.
Posted by: h-man at December 17, 2004 3:07 PM
At age 70, it's high time Moyers stopped suckling on the government teat!
Posted by: G. Eugene at December 17, 2004 4:08 PMMoyers has made a staggering amount of money off of government-sponsored broadcasting. He is Exhibit A as to why PBS, NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting should be shut down forever.
Posted by: Bart at December 17, 2004 5:56 PMGiven the choice between famous native sons of Marshall, Texas, to emulate, I'd choose George Foreman over Moyers in a heartbeat. Even without his boxing career, George's Mean, Lean Grilling Machine has been a bigger asset to American culture than anything Bill's ever done in his 40-years in the public spotlight.
Posted by: John at December 17, 2004 6:19 PMIsn't Bill Moyers what Michael Kinsley aspires to be?
'Nuff said.
Posted by: jim hamlen at December 18, 2004 12:24 AMI watched about 10 minutes of the program. It was so full of lies, misrepresentations and innuendo I had to call in my liberal brother in law to witness it. Moyers was asserting that Fox News and right wing radio had spread the misconception that Saddam was involved with 9/11. He then showed clips of Fox discussing Saddams ties to terror and Al-Qaeda. Fox never asserted he was responsible for 9/11 simply that he had ties to international terrorists. It was the old bait and switch, and it was blatantly dishonest. Don't let the door hit ya' where the good lord split ya' mister Moyers.
Posted by: Pat H at December 18, 2004 1:31 AMBill Moyers is insane.
Posted by: Tom C., Stamford, Ct. at December 18, 2004 10:34 AM